[Histonet] Re: SLIPPING ON LAB FLOOR

From:

Gayle Callis

She is putting herself at risk for the sake of being a glamourous
professional. Been there, did this in 60's - but with stilettos and very
pointy toe styles, and suffered through the "slip sliding away" thing in a
histology laboratory. It took a near disaster to teach an eyeopening
safety awareness lesson and buying sensible safe shoes. One of the most
common accidents in the work place is falling.
She should use practical ( and some are not that ugly!) work related shoes,
slip on style, for daily wear in office/lab, and change in a flash when she
needs to be the "dressed to the nines" professional for meetings,
conferences, etc.
You can minimize paraffin debris by putting sticky mats (3M, sold by
vendors) under your paraffin embedding, microtomy and processing areas, and
in front of doorways. We put industrial rug/mats in those areas but
clinical labs may have a hard time with cleaning. Our chairs roll over the
mats easily, and they can be vacuumed without difficulty.
At 04:55 PM 8/5/2003, you wrote:
>Hi Everyone:
>
>A problem.
>My boss, who wears dress shoes with half-size high heels (the heels have a
>broad base to them, not the "stiletto" type), has been having problems
>slipping on my laboratory's floor. I am really afraid that she is going to
>actually fall and injure herself.
>
>I myself have no problem in the lab, since the soles of my shoes are
>rubber or plastic polymer. Sneakers work fine as well.
>I manage a neuropathology laboratory which means I use paraffin embedding.
>Although, I keep the floor clean, I think that the residual wax near the
>embedding and sectioning stations may get spread around the rest of the
>lab by my shoes.
>
>So far, I have put a "CAUTION" sign up on my laboratory door advising
>people to excercise caution when entering the lab, especially when wearing
>dress shoes, in order to at least increase awareness.
>
>Perhaps, I should put the laboratory floor on a regular "preventative
>maintenance" schedule of cleaning and waxing to minimize the amount of wax
>on the floor.
>Then again, maybe I should ask the maintenance people not to put any wax
>on the floor after they clean it. Perhaps it is this wax that is part of
>the problem.
>
>Has anyone ever had this problem? How did you solve it?
>
>I would appreciate any advice anyone may have.
>
>Tim Wheelock
>Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
>McLean Hospital
>617-855-3592
>
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Gayle Callis
Research Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology
Montana State University - Bozeman
PO Box 173610
Bozeman MT 59717-3610
406 994-6367
406 994-4303 (FAX)
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